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Why Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA) Hit a Three-Month High Today

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA - Get Report) continued its upward surge on Friday, as the stock was climbing more than 26% to $9.50.

By mid-afternoon, stock volume already had surpassed 80 million shares compared with average daily volume of 26.02 million shares. The stock opened at $7.37, hit a low of $7.35 and then soared to a high by midday of $9.83, its highest total in more than three months.

The Daily Mailreported Thursday that multiple industry majors have been circling Ariad since the Food and Drug Administration green-lit Ariad's Ponatinib, a leukemia treatment. The report cited rumors that three international pharma groups, including Eli Lilly(LLY), have made "friendly approaches" to Ariad and are prepared to offer as much as $20 a share to gain control. Other companies mentioned in the report include GlaxoSmithKline(GSK) and Shire.

Ariad recently announced that Ponatinib is commercially available to adult patients with refractory chronic myeloid leukemia.